Construction job training program launches in Camden

CAMDEN -- A new job training initiative has launched in Camden to train residents for construction jobs.

Officials announced Thursday that the Camden Construction Career Initiative will train more than 100 residents by the end of next year through the Union Organization for Social Service pre-apprenticeship training program.

While state tax credits have helped lure companies to Camden, some in one of the country's most impoverished cities have complained that those businesses haven't brought enough jobs for city residents.

George Norcross, chairman of Cooper University Health Care, says that public officials have a responsibility to make sure residents have access to those jobs. The initiative is being run by the Cooper Foundation.

Students will have to complete 260 hours of training in academics, federal safety standards and financial literacy.

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